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Friday, November 21, 2014

Friday Favorites: Thankful for Y'all Edition!

Friday again??? How did that happen so fast??? Maybe it was my "pause day" Wednesday that threw me off, but I just have a feeling that I'm going to blink and it will be 2015. WAAAAAAAH!!!!

Enough lamenting and on with the favorites.

First up, in case you missed it.... I'm giving away one of my FAVORITE staple wardrobe pieces.... a blanket scarf! Go back to Wednesday's post and enter to win! If you didn't already think that you need this scarf in your life, GG is here to show you otherwise...

Next up are these three cuties, eating dry cereal, in my bed. The end.

Morning snuggles are my FAVORITE time of the day - until they turn into the inevitable "he's in the middle and IIIIIIIIIII want the middle" or someone spills an entire cup of Lucky Charms under the covers ;) But those first few, blissful, moments where everyone is still groggy and kind of still are the sweetest.

Our family pictures (that were scheduled for two weeks ago.... the same day GG got Hand, Foot and Mouth disease) are this Sunday and I generally like to do a neutral polish for pics. I used OPI's "Cosmo Not Tonight, Honey", and at first I loved it. But then it was way too neutral and so I threw some awesome glitter polish from Julep over it and it turned out to be a new FAVORITE. Glitter is a BEAST to remove, but it lasts forever so I think it's worth it. I'm thinking of doing a plum color for pics (I know, not very neutral), so wish me luck getting this off on Saturday!

I'm pretty sure that Griffin's FAVORITE time of the day is when we get home and she digs through my purse looking for snacks. Yes. I had a pb&j in my purse on this day. Because #momofthree #alwaysbeprepared

My FAVORITE pumpkin sheet cake that I shared about a few weeks ago is just as tasty with 1/2 oil and 1/2 applesauce. Okay - maybe 95% as tasty. But this way I can cut my piece a little larger ;)

I've been up to one of my FAVORITE pastimes.... gettin' crafty!!! Can't wait to unveil some fun Christmas things I've been working on! :)

Y'all know I LOOOOOOVE me some little girl clothes, and here are a few of Griffin's FAVORITE outfits this week! Yes, it's Fall (and freezing!), but we like to add a "little" color ;)

Last night we had pork chops for dinner and I was in a pinch for a side dish, so I channeled Dave's Aunt Lisa and made THE BEST "creamed" corn EVER!!! Her recipe makes 40 oz of corn (perfect for a potluck, but that would take us like 2 weeks to eat), so I just roughly cut the recipe in 1/4s and called it a day. I cooked one bag of frozen corn in the microwave (I am convinced that Sam's club has the best frozen corn of all time) and then threw the cooked corn, about 2 oz of cream cheese and 1/2 stuck margarine in a small sauce pan. I cooked it on low until it was all melty and creamy and then left it on warm (stirring every once in a while) until we were ready to eat.

It is seriously PERFECTION. I could eat it as a meal. Try it out for a dinner this weekend and I GUARANTEE you that you'll be adding it to your Thanksgiving meal plan. Promise!

This week 5 out of my 6 classes have been working on a group project where I assigned them a topic (we've been working on fractions) and they had to come up with a "creative way" of presenting the information to their peers. Yesterday was presentation day and it was awesome. One of my FAVORITE things as a teacher is to give my students some freedom and watch what they come up with. I saw a puppet show (going down behind my "trashketball" goal)...

A sockpuppet movie.... this one cracked me up because it was "Jimmy Fraction" (instead of Jimmy Fallon" and they did the whole "ewwww" thing. hahahaha

There was a "news segment" about the teacher who can teach anyone!

And we ended with a puppets vs stuffed animals fraction showdown. Seriously... their creativity blew me away. I don't get to see this side of them all that often in math class, so when I do it's always my FAVORITE.

Another FAVORITE teacher moment from the week was on Monday. My classes are over at 1:15 and then I have planning periods. Dave was off and was having a bunch of stuff done to his car, so he swung by school and brought us lunch. It was a little mini "lunch date" which was crashed by 16 middle schoolers when I ended up having to sub drama. :) So we dined on Chick-Fil-A and watched them play "taxi cab" and other drama games. So fun, and I think Dave left with a greater appreciation of what I do all day. hahaha

Luke had his Thanksgiving day feast yesterday and even though I had to miss it I was super excited I got to see a few pics that some of the other moms snapped. My Indian is the third from the right in the middle row. Doesn't he look thrilled?? ;) There are two kindergarten classes - Luke's class were Indians and the other class were pilgrims. TOO CUTE!

I am soooooooooooo ready to decorate for Christmas (this weekend!!! WOO HOO!!!) and I have a new FAVORITE ornament. Ever since we were 15 and 16 Dave and I have exchanged Christmas ornaments. When I saw that Farmgirl Paints was making ornaments this year I decided that this would be our ornament to each other ;) We have plans to get one every year with a piece of a Christmas song and the year. Can't wait!!!

Sidenote: I DETEST the Christmas song "Mary, did you know". I don't really know why. But I do. I think it's just overly dramatic for me or something. So when I was talking to Dave about the ornament/song tradition he agreed to it, but said he wanted to pick the lyric for next years ornament. I agreed and then he broke out into a full-on grin. He's dubbed 2015 "Mary Did You Know..." year. hahaha

Since I didn't get to see Luke at his feast today, when we got home I asked him to show me his Indian costume. He told me that he needed to paint his face, so I let him use eyeliner. ;) His little face is my FAVORITE.

Apparently he'd been thinking about painting his face because he knew exactly how he wanted it...

He informed me that "real Indians" didn't wear shirts and never smiled. hahaha

So Mason made it his personal mission to get him to "crack".

What's one of my FAVORITE moments as a mom??? How about opening my email and finding this sweet note from Luke's teacher. My mommy heart was BIG and proud last night ;)

Last, but definitely not least.... Erika, Narci and are so thankful for y'all and so we wanted to give away a $150 gift card to one of our very FAVORITE stores. Any guesses???

It's NORDSTROM!!!! How fun, right??? Treat yourself to something extra fun for the Holidays from us!

Yay!! Love the fun giveaway, love the precious email about your sweet boy, and love the easy creamed corn recipe! Such a fun post :) Have a wonderful weekend!Alli from onmywaytowhereverimgoing.blogspot.com

That decoration for your tree....that just sums up my life right now. I love it. So good to see you babies again this week as I link up with all the pretty ladies! Have a great weekend and hey I'm thankful for all of ya'll too!!!!

What a wonderful sweet giveaway. :-) What an amazing blessing that will be for the lucky winner. Was Manson able to get Luke to smile? The best emails I get are ones from my daughter's teacher. :-)Christene @dancing_in_love(Instagram)

I love love LOVE your blog! I don't have kids yet, but I have made a point to start saving some of your ideas for when I am a mommy myself! You inspire me to make the most of my time, be thankful for the past, be PRESENT in the present, and be excited for the future. You are proof that you really can do it all!

Please blog forever!!! :)

Heather (McManigal) Butler

P.S. I got married in April and we had our rehearsal dinner at Stonebridge. Guess who was in charge of the evening? Your husband! :) Such a gorgeous place with even better service. Tell him thank you for us!

I'm so thankful for this blogging community! I would have never guessed I would find so many great ladies in this bogging journey, but I am SO grateful I did. And I can't wait to see your DIY project! I love myself some lights in letters!!

Happy Friday! Thank you for the giveaway. This would be perfect just in time for Christmas. Your little ones are adorable as usual. Love the Christmas ornament song lyric idea. Maybe Mary Did You Know will grow on you. Have a blessed Thanksgiving :)

Sephora has a nail polish remover specifically for glitter nail polish. I haven't tried it myself, but I've heard really great things about it. Here is a link to the product on their website: http://www.sephora.com/instant-nail-polish-remover-for-glitter-P386179?skuId=1590611

The rafflecopter things never work on my phone for some reason, but I wanted to leave a comment anyway. I love reading about your sweet family. Luke's idea of an Indian made me chuckle, and Mason trying to make him crack..too funny! Glad GG is feeling better!

That face paint! SO sweet that he had been thinking about it and took it so seriously. :) And GG in a blanket scarf!! Absolutely precious! But what's new there? :) And I second Ashley Stewart's comment above. I'm a working mom in Louisville too, and you give me so much inspiration to lighten up and just have FUN soaking up those moments with my girl. :)

I agree with you completely- this year is going by WAY too fast- 2015 sounds crazy! Love reading your blog each week- sorry for not commenting very often, but I do read it :) Your energy as a mother, teacher, and wife is inspiring. As a teacher, and not yet a parent- and I know how tired I feel at the end of the week- you amaze me! Thankful for you Texas ladies!!

1. This giveaway is AWESOME!2. I bought that exact scarf for $18 on groupdealz yesterday! I bought one for myself and my mother in law.3. Those ornaments a precious! From what I gather she isn't selling them anymore? I would love to give those this year!

We're decorating for Christmas this weekend too! We leave for out of town on Tuesday night & I want to come home to a fully decorated house, so I talked my husband into it! And I love buttered corn! I've never had it this way before though, so maybe I'll try it this weekend!

I look forward to Fridays for the Friday Favorite posts. It usually gives me a good excuse to get out on Saturday and buy a little something fun that someone has blogged about. Thanks for feeding my shopping prob. lol

I am dying that Luke wanted to paint his face and not smile nor wear a shirt because Indians don't! That's hilarious! Can't wait to see what you're making! It looks pretty fabulous! Have a great weekend!

I have so much to say! G is adorable as always. Luke is so cute with his pilgrim outfit! And I still need to make that delicious pumpkin sheet cake. The creamed corn looks really good...and easy! Right up my alley! :) Happy Friday!!

Hi Andrea,Love your blog and your adorable kids. Luke seems like such a sweet boy, and what a nice message from his teacher!! It makes me feel better about the future to know that moms (and dads) like you are raising their sons to be kind, appreciative, and sensitive... Which is why I want to say one quick(ish) thing about Luke's Indian costume. I understand that dressing as Native Americans and Pilgrims is something the class does every year, and while in general I think it oversimplifies history and exploitation and all that jazz, I am not trying to say that this practice should stop. What I do want to mention though is that Luke "playing" an Indian by not smiling and being shirtless is not necessarily funny or cute to those of us with Native American ancestry. That's a stereotype that is inaccurate and harmful. I'm not saying you need to give him a crash-course in violence toward indigenous people, but perhaps just use the opportunity to explain that Native Americans are real people too and they aren't somehow shirtless or non-smiling, but often look just like me or you. I think it also can be beneficial to explain that sometimes Native Americans felt upset and were hurt by the settlers taking their land and their homes. Kids are smart and can deal with truths like that, and honestly, I think learning truths like that makes them better, kinder, more understanding people in the long run.

Thanks so much for your comment, Christine! Let me start by saying that I sincerely apologize if you took offense to Luke playing Indian. My husband has Native American ancestry as well and I'd hate for anyone to think Luke was being anything other than a little boy playing dress up. I asked Luke why he wanted to dress like that and his response was, "that's how they look in books" (we've been reading lots of Thanksgiving books from the library). We've talked about several of the points you brought up and I appreciate your feedback. Please accept my apology for not clarifying these points in my initial post. Thanks!

I love keeping up with you and your lovely family. I am due with my 1st little girl in April and love seeing Griffin in all her glamor outfits!! :) Too cute! Thanks for listing all your favorites and sharing your tips and tricks!

It's Friday...HUZZAH!!! Your recap of the week was darling. If I had a recap of mine it would be...I drove here in GA...I toured this place....I ate this....I slept in this hotel.... Ah, traveling for my job. Your week was def more my speed! Enjoy the weekend!

I just picked up my first glitter polish in years the other day! I love it! I used it as a accent color on each hand :) Love the pics of Luke as a little Indian! Excited to see your family photos! I hope they go well! We have ours next weekend on a tree farm hopefully :)Love that ornament from Farmgirl Paints! I just received my cuffs that I ordered...love them!